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Where was the regiment on
December 31, 1863
Corporal Theodore Wolbach, in his series of articles, Camp and Field, describes the last day of 1863, where the 16th Ohio was camped at Descros Point on Matagorda Peninsula, Texas, as follows:
On the last day of December the wind was blowing continually. Toward night it increased in velocity, veering around to the north-west, growing colder every hour. All night and the next day it continued. Tents were blown flat and movable objects hurled through the air. Every attempt to cook in the camps was a dismal failure, the wind blowing the fire away from under the kettles. The men huddled together under the canvas and made it as merry as was possible I the miserable situation. The 16th didn't lack sand in that dark and trying hour, for their eyes and mouths were full of it. Vessels inside the bar, at the beginning of this fearful 'norther', put to sea, where they could have deep water and plenty of room to buffet the storm. One vessel stayed behind and was driven from her moorings and drifted against Pelican Island, at the mouth of the pass. When the weather again calmed she was towed away, not having sustained any injury. The aspect of the bay and gulf was enough to fill a person with terror, even when viewing it from land. The crests of waves were lashed and beat into a furious foam. Birds that rose to take wing were carried with the wind. Where the spray dashed upon the beach, the sand was covered several inches deep with beads of ice. Several good sized fish, that, evidently have been killed by being thrown violently ashore by the waves, were picked up. Some oleander trees, planted as ornaments in the yards, were killed by the intense cold--something that had not occurred for ten years. It was a rough beginning for the new year (1864) but when the 'norther' had expended itself the weather was mild again.
Detailed 1984 nautical map showing the approximate position of the 16th Ohio's campsite on Decros Point, Matagorda Peninsula, Texas, where the regiment would spend six weeks, from December 2, 1863, to January 12, 1864.
Wide view modern day map showing the location of the 16th Ohio at Decros Point, Matagorda Peninsula, Texas, December 2, 1863 to January 12, 1864.
Blue pin - Decros Point, Matagorda Peninsula, Texas - the place where the 16th Ohio Volunteer Infantry landed on December 1, 1863 and would spend many weeks during the winter of 1863 and 1864.
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